Smithsonian.com

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Wolves, hibernating animals, spitting cobras and more

(Jim and Jamie Dutcher / NGS Image Collection)

smithsonian.com
March 31, 2009

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Observed

(Maura McCarthy)Name: Spitting cobras, snakes in the genus Naja.Evil Eye: They spit a blinding venom at prey up to six feet away. Bull's Eye: In a study of spitting accuracy, one species hit its target 80 percent of the time and another never missed.Snake Eyes? Sure, a cobra can see its prey's face, but the key lies in the snake's neck, according to a new study out of the University of Bonn in Germany.
A striking snake shakes and twists its head, dispersing venom in a pattern that makes the drops almost impossible to avoid. The researchers, though, worked behind glass.